Press
- Parent Category: News
Courtesy of The Sunday Gazette Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Environmental Protection Agency is intent on shoehorning vast, costly global warming regulations into the 1970 Clean Air Act.
Congress has been content to look the other way and allow it to happen, but on June 10 every senator will be on the record. That's when the Senate will vote on a resolution (SJ Res. 26) introduced by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski that would overturn the EPA's global warming regulations. It's privileged and not subject to filibuster. There is no place for weak-kneed senators to hide. In just two weeks we'll know where every member of the Senate stands, including Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller.
Read more: Phil Kerpen and Donna Holstine: Will Byrd, Jay stop EPA assault on W.Va.?
- Parent Category: News
by J.D. CHARLES, Staff Writer, and MICHAEL BROWNING, Managing Editor of the Logan Banner
Every time there is a mine disaster there is a lot of finger pointing. Much of this finger pointing has more to do with politics than it does concerns about the safety of coal miners.
One great example is the furor over strip mining. When people ask me about “surface mining” or “mountaintop removal” I tell them, I am pro-strip mining because it is SAFER for the coal miners than deep mining.
Statistics back me up on that.
- Parent Category: News
TRG Motorsports today announced a partnership with The Upper Big Branch Family Fund to pay tribute to the 29 West Virginia miners who lost their lives in a mining incident on April 5th. This partnership will launch during this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team will help raise awareness through the website, www.RememberTheMiners.org, to be featured as a part of the paint scheme of the TRG Motorsports #71 Chevrolet driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte. The Upper Big Branch Family Fund was formed to give support, assistance and scholarships to the families of the fallen miners. The fund will help the miners' family members pay for college or take care of other expenses to keep the family stable, a fitting tribute to the men who died. The Fund was created by West Virginia University Head Basketball Coach Bob Huggins and Big Coal River native Jason Parsons.
See images of the car on on the #71 Team Schemes page.
- Parent Category: News
May 25, 2010
Mr Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC20500
Dear Mr. President Obama,
The United State of America is a truly wonderful country that we are so blessed to call home. These United States are intended to be exactly that…United. United and equal, treated the same in regards to the law. Not red states or blue states, not states to reward or to shun. Your job as President is to lead this great country in a united front towards progress. Instead, you’re presidency rewards those who supported your campaign and ideas, and punishes those who voted for the other candidate.
No, West Virginia citizens did not vote for you in 2008. In neither the primary or general elections. Why? I believe it is pretty obvious. Your attack on coal, and yes, I said YOUR attack on coal.
- Parent Category: News
A report by the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee of the U.S. Senate indicates thousands of West Virginia jobs are endangered by the EPA’s continuing withholding of mining permits across the state.
According to the report, entitled “The Obama Administration’s Obstruction of Coal Mining Permits in Appalachia,” the EPA’s policies threaten almost 6,000 mining jobs as well as some $217 million in tax revenues for the state. In addition, the report indicates that on a regional basis, the EPA obstruction endangers more than 160,000 jobs.
In fact, the report indicates the EPA’s action is only part of a “broader agenda” to “drastically curtail coal mining in Appalachia.”
Read more: US Senate Report EPA Permit Delays Threaten Thousands of West Virginia Jobs
- Parent Category: News
By William Yeatman
Just because coal is an inanimate object doesn't mean President Obama's war on coal avoids human casualties. I witnessed the collateral damage to coal-dependent communities on Tuesday at the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia, where hundreds of people gathered to demand that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spare their livelihoods.
In Mr. Obama's war on coal, the most intensive front has been waged against a particular kind of mining, known as mountain-top removal (MTR). It involves blowing off the top of mountains to get at the underlying coal seams, and it is essential for the Appalachian coal industry's competitiveness vis-a-vis growing production west of the Mississippi. But it is anathema to environmentalists, a major constituency within the president's Democratic Party.
Read more: Yeatman: Pests over People - Humans are Collateral Damage in the War on Coal
- Parent Category: News
MELVILLE — Roger Ramey smiled as he stood on the landing strip at the Logan County Airport yesterday and watched the Hercules C-130 aircraft land.
Ramey, who retired after 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and is the senior board member on the Logan County Airport Authority, said watching the airplane land was a "dream come true."
"This is a lifelong dream," Ramey said. "When I was in the Air Force and stationed overseas in the 1970s, I heard through my parents that they were planning to build an airport here. I thought I'd spent enough time in the Air Force that I could come back to Logan and get a job at the airport. It didn't progress as big and as fast as I'd have liked and I spent 20 years in the Air Force and when I got out, we came back to Logan and I got a job with the railroad.
Read more: Logan Airport & National Guard: A Dream Come True for ERT
- Parent Category: News
LAURITA AND HOWARD NAMED TO WEST VIRGINIA COAL HALL OF FAME
Nicewonder joins to accept his 2009 award at annual meeting in Glade Springs
CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Coal Association and the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute are proud to name Thomas W. Howard and James Lewis Laurita (Jim, Sr.) as the 2010 inductees to the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame. Laurita and Howard were joined in accepting the award by Don Nicewonder, who received his 2009 induction. Nicewonder had been unable to attend this past year.
“This is the highest honor our industry can bestow,” said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “This award is given to people who devote a lifetime of service to our industry and our state. I am so proud to be able to say I know these three gentlemen and count them as friends. They are gentlemen in every sense of the word. They embody the very best of our industry. Their lives of hard work, commitment to excellence and commitment to the state and its people truly light the way for the rest of us to follow.”
- Parent Category: News
Q: When and where is the Public Hearing for the Spruce No. 1 Surface Mine Proposed Determination?
A: EPA Region 3 will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at the Charleston Civic Center (South Hall) in Charleston, West Virginia.
Q: Where is the Civic Center located?
A: The Charleston Civic Center is located at 200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston, West Virginia. Their phone number is 304-345-1500.
Q: What is the purpose of the Public Hearing?
A: EPA is holding the public hearing to obtain public testimony or comment on EPA’s proposed 404(c) action on the Spruce No. 1 Mine project.
Q: Is the Public Hearing open to anyone?
A: Anyone may appear at the hearing and submit oral and/or written statements or data. On-site registration to speak will begin at 5 p.m.
Q: What about people who have special needs?
A: For those who have special needs and require auxiliary aids and/or services to fully participate in the public hearing, please call 215-814-2760.
Q: Are advanced sign-ups being accepted?
A: Yes. In anticipation of the large turnout for the hearing, advanced sign-up is recommended due to time and capacity limitations, especially for those planning to make oral comments.
Q: How do I sign up?
A: To sign up go to http://www.epa.gov/region3/mtntop/spruce1hearing.html and click on the link which reads “Registering ahead of time is recommended.” You may also sign-up by phone at 877-368-3552.
Q: How do I submit my comments?
A: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No EPA-R03-OW-2009-0985, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal (recommended method of comment submission): http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Or, go directly to the comments page for this action.
E-mail: ow-docket@epamail.epa.gov. Include the docket number, EPA-R03-OW-2009-0985, in the subject line of the message.
Mail:
‘‘EPA-R03-OW-2009-0985, Spruce No. 1 Surface Mine’’
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Docket Center Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Hand Delivery or Courier:
Director, Office of Environmental Programs
Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division (3EA30)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office’s normal hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding federal holidays.
Submit at the Public Hearing: Written comments may also be presented at the hearing.